


Losing the Light

by Waywocket



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Blood, Drugs, Gladiolus just doesn't get how to emotion well, I'm sorry Prompto!, Prompto cries, Suicide Attempt, Violence, lots of self hate, self hate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-19 06:43:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11307876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waywocket/pseuds/Waywocket
Summary: This is a companion piece to Surviving the Darkness. Please read that first, it will make understanding this easier.http://archiveofourown.org/works/11170890/chapters/24936189This is Gladiolus' view on things, and gives insight on why he acts as he does.





	Losing the Light

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Surviving the Darkness](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11170890) by [Waywocket](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waywocket/pseuds/Waywocket). 



> Hey so you know how I promised this wouldn't be nearly as long? I lied! Sorry about that, I got sucked in much deeper than expected. Again this is just missing pieces to Surviving the Darkness (Go back and read that) so far everything is in the same world (So yeah that really was a shameless plug about Rabid Beasts :P) I hope you enjoy this, and let me know what you think please! In put helps me know what to write for all of you loves!

Some shield he was, Gladiolus thought to himself slowly swirling the last of his whiskey in it’s glass. Getting on that boat was the worst decision of his life, even if he really had no choice. Ignis lost his sight, than they lost Prompto on the train. At least they had managed to find the kid. No one noticed how much they needed him to keep them together until then. It had been their only mercy, but they hardly had time to digest everything before Noctis disappeared. Swallowed up by the Crystal he was supposed to protect.

Taking the last drink, Gladiolus waved for another, not bothering to look up from the glass in front of him. He had already lost count of his drinks, but he was still thinking. Thinking about how after everything had happened, Prompto was still smiling, strained and forced but he smiled for them none the less. Made him a little jealous, but he was grateful for the boy. 

Not that he was any good at showing it. He snorted to himself as his glass was refilled, this time he raised his hand to keep the bottle. Reluctantly it stayed. For as grateful as he was for Prompto, all he had managed to do was hurt him and make him cry. He remembered Prompto leaning against Ignis, chewing his lip as tears ran down his face, pretending to nap against him. Ignis would wrap an arm around him, free hand placed over the bar code. If times were better, Gladiolus would have teased them for it, how Prompto calmed like a small child getting their favorite toy or blanket. Instead it made his chest tight, Prompto was still a kid, Niflheim or not, the blond was never meant to go through all this. He was just supposed to be the prince’s friend going along for the ride. Throwing gil on the table, Gladiolus walked out of the bar, bottle in hand. 

He could make his way back to the room he shared with Talcott and Dustin while he finished the bottle. Swaying as he walked down the streets, he was too far gone to notice the dirty looks people gave him as he worked his way through the maze like streets of the city. Nursing the bottle, Gladiolus winced as the bitter burn filled his mouth. In no time, or maybe it had been a couple hours, he was unsure, the bottle was empty. 

Looking around, the large man grumbled, he had never seen this part of the city before. Walking through a few more streets, he was sure he was making progress, getting somewhere. Still unsure where he was, he at least recognized some of the stalls, until the path gave way to the street. The light of the disc glowing in the distance. Bringing the bottle to his lips, Gladiolus grumbled when he remembered it was empty, tossing it over his shoulder and into a bin.

Making his way to the street, he felt himself falling backwards, bouncing against something, as a car came flying by, laying on their horn. Gladiolus raised a single finger salute to the driver and stumbled his way across the street. He nearly fell down the stairs, but he always jerked back at the last second. Past the cars and stalls, he found a table set out and sunk onto the bench. Looking out to the Disc again, it was getting harder to focus. The last thing he remembered before waking up in his room was something yellow, wrapped around him and warm.

The sound of Prompto yelling his name made Gladiolus stop, and he gave a sigh of relief. Turning his torso, the man looked at the younger and smiled, “Glad you came to your senses. Come on, those Giants wont kill themselves.” Turning back, Gladiolus missed the way Prompto’s cheeks puffed out, and how he crossed his arms over his chest as he walked a step behind the taller man. 

Reaching the small cluster of Red Giants, Gladiolus readied his sword. From the corner of his eye he saw his friend do the same with his gun, stepping back and to the side. Prompto started off the fight with Starshell, covering the battle field in light, and Gladiolus took his cue and charged. Sword high over his head, the once shield leapt into the air, crashing the blade against the closest Giant, cracking the beast metal skin. 

Gun shots ran in his ear and Prompto let lose a barrage of bullets into the open flesh. Gladiolus laughed, the kid was better at this than he remembered, charging in again. His next swing knocked the deamon over, struggling to stand. Both boys took their chance, blasting it with everything they had, leaving it tittering on the edge.

As the battle continued, Gladiolus found himself watching Prompto as he quickly switched between his gun and machines. A well time gravitywell tied the Giants together, giving Gladiolus a chance to swing at them all at once, one of them falling back into the inky black they had come from.

“Good job, Prom! Keep up the good work.” Gladiolus cheered, as he went to the next monster, swinging again. More than once they had to pull back and regroup, trying to catch their breaths, dodging as the beasts swung. Eventually the last Red Giant fell, black oozing around them as it sunk back into the ground. As the ink faded, Prompto collapsed to the ground, a hand raised as he tried to cheer.

“We did it! Three Red Giants with just the two of us, man.” Gladiolus laughed and sat next to the gunner, opting to lay next to him shortly after. Both their chests heaved as they caught their breath, and laughed just for the joy of being alive. Once their breath tapered off, Prompto looked to Gladiolus, grinning still.

“Hey, you remember the first time we saw one of those things, just outside Galdin Quay?” Prompto paused, both of them chuckled at the memory.

“We got so scared we bailed out of the car, still sitting in the middle of the road. I thought I was going to wet myself looking at that thing. We all just ran down the hill, and straight for the caravan.” Prompto held his stomach as he laughed again, they had spent the night awake, staring out the windows of the caravan, waiting for the Giant to leave the car so they could retrieve it. 

“Damned thing walked around the car all night, until the sun chased it away,” Gladiolus added. It had been embarrassing come morning, having to walk back up the hill as cars drove around the Regalia. Luckily no one called them out on it, they were embarrassed all the same as they stood near by, waiting for a break in traffic.

Rolling up to sit, Gladiolus moved to stand, offering a hand to Prompto. Back on their feet, they made their way back to the city, and the safety of the lights. The trip was cheerful, the most the two had talked since they left for Altissia. Once they reached the Noodle vender, Gladiolus turned to Prompto.

“I’ll go turn in the hunt, you can go ahead and head back if you want. I need a drink.” He missed Prompto’s concerned face as he turned away, alcohol on his mind.

Time went on, and Gladiolus was becoming familiar with all the bars in Lestallum. Many of them had places to sit outside and people watch, those were his favorites. People were still clinging to what hope they could find, though it was fading. They were just as likely to greet each other as sneer, or fight. Gladiolus found himself thankful that Noctis was able to miss this, it would have broken him to see how much everyone hurt. He drank more when he thought about Noctis. 

As he watched, he paid special attention if he saw Prompto, and Ignis if he was with him. After the first fight about taking Ignis, he seemed to be getting happier, Gladiolus wished there was a way to let them know he was grateful Ignis was smiling again. Any time he thought he had worked up- the curage to talk to the blind man, he was gone.

What he noticed more than Ignis’ smile, was how much he saw Prompto. Often he would be working in or around stalls, or carrying boxes or goods around the city. He noticed if anyone stopped to ask the boy a favor, he was more than willing, no matter how minor the task. Helping the citizens in the city wasn’t the only thing he was doing alone. He caught Prompto turning in his fair share of solo hunts, usually already covered in bandages. The kid had to be cutting it close with those hunts, taking on more than he should. Gladiolus wanted to yell at him, pull him aside and tell him to stop burying everything, but looking at the glass in his hands, he knew he had no room to talk. At least Prompto was being useful.

He changed his mind on where he stood with how much Prompto did when the blond dropped before they could even accept a hunt. He had been unusually quiet, but he had assumed Prompto had only recently woken up. 

Going over details with the tipster, he suddenly felt Prompto leaning against him. Moving to wrap an arm around him, Gladiolus was prepared to tease him, but stopped when he felt Prompto sliding down. Turning quickly he scooped the younger up, giving an apologetic look to the tipster before he ran to the hospital. 

Once he was checked over, they let Gladiolus into the room. Sitting next to his friend he followed the needle in his arm up, and into an IV bag. The doctors had explained it was exhaustion, Prompto only need spend a couple days resting and he would be right as rain. Gladiolus found something wrong with that metaphor, but put it aside, watching his friend’s chest rise and fall in his sleep.

After only a short while, Gladiolus stood, no point sitting there if he was just sleeping. Turning to move to the door, he heard a small whine and turned. Prompto had cracked open his eyes, one hand lazily reaching for him.

“Please stay. Hospitals make me nervous.” Prompto spoke quietly, stuck somewhere between sleep and wakefulness. The image made Gladiolus smile fondly, he almost wished he could get a picture of it. 

Nodding, Gladiolus sat back down, moving the chair to be closer to Prompto. The blond smiled, turning in the bed to face his friend. 

“Thanks, Gladio.” Prompto tried to keep his eyes open as he spoke, but they fluttered. Sighing, Gladiolus reached over and gently rustled the blond’s hair, chuckling at the small whine. Flailing, Prompto managed to grab the offending hand, trapping it under his head, or maybe he was just laying on it, Gladiolus wasn’t sure. Leaning against the bed, Gladiolus let himself get as comfortable as he could as Prompto clung to his arm.

“You can’t keep doing this to yourself Prompto.” He spoke softly, nearly whispering to himself. Instead of an answer, he felt Prompto bury his face against the feathers that lined his arm. With a sigh, Gladiolus smiled a bit to himself. There were two universal truths he had learned about Prompto. When he set his mind to something, he refused to let go, he might whine about it, but there was no giving up. And that he wanted to be helpful

Trying again, he leaned his head on his shoulder, so he could whisper, “You need to take care of yourself, Prompto. Burying yourself under work does more harm than good.” He felt Prompto squeeze his arm tighter and mumble something against his skin. Letting out a confused hum, he moved his arm to give Prompto a nudge. This time Prompto looked up at him, his mouth tight before he spoke.

“At least it’s better than drinking.” Blinking, Gladiolus sat still, looking down at the blond who still held his arm. He should be angry, Gladiolus thinks, but instead, he just nods his head. There was no point in denying it, he was drinking just as much as he was working. However, “I don’t let drinking get in the way of hunts. You’ve worked yourself so hard you’re laying in a hospital bed.” 

Grumbling, Prompto narrowed his eyes before laying back down. Gladiolus laughed, laying his free hand over Prompto’s hair, smoothing it. Things were never going to change, not until Noctis came back, but for now, this was alright. If he could keep Prompto and Ignis safe, he thinks everything will be alright.

Prompto was making his job very difficult. He had found Gladiolus in the small training area that they had created to prepare new hunters, practicing himself. Running over, his normal bubbly self, Gladiolus couldn’t help but smile back as his sword flashed into blue light.

“Gladio! Don’t you think your muscles are big enough?” Laughed the blond, reaching into a bag slung over his shoulder. Holding up a bottle of water, he offered it to Gladiolus who took it gratefully.

“Thanks,” taking a drink, he smiled before he continued, “After you were in the hospital, I figured I’d try being useful instead.” Prompto’s face broke into a grin, Gladiolus half expected him to hug him, or squeal with how much excitement was pouring off the kid. Reaching out, he ruffled Prompto’s hair again, laughing at how he squawked at the contact, but he never stopped smiling.

Pushing the offending hand away, Prompto rocked on his heels, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Looking up at him, Gladiolus raised a brow, that grin was never good. 

“Then why don’t you train with me and Iggy? I’m going to set up some special targets so he can listen for them.” Sometimes, Gladiolus hated being right. A cold and bitter feeling coiled in his stomach at the thought of Ignis out on hunts. No matter how hard he tried to think otherwise, the idea of Ignis fighting always brought the thought of blood. 

His face twisted, why couldn’t Prompto understand that Ignis was safer inside the city? By now he had forgotten how often the three had fought about Ignis fighting, and yet he still failed to get through to them. 

Without a word, he shouldered past Prompto, leaving the training area. Prompto tried to follow him, yelling out to him. Feeling a hand wrap around his wrist, Gladiolus grumbled, yanking his hand free.

“I need a drink.” He spoke without stopping, looking for the bar farthest away from where they stood. He left Prompto standing at the edge, desperately clutching the bag, fighting back tears. 

As weeks past, Gladiolus found himself drinking closer to the training area. He swore to himself that it was just that he liked the whiskey, but he was hard to believe as he watched people come from training. From his distance, he could hear the machines Prompto had made, the sound of metal thumping against wood. 

The sound was quickly drowned out by the sound of metal clashing against the targets. It sounded like Ignis was hitting them, but it was hard to know for sure, but the sound of Prompto cheering was promising. 

Taking another drink, Gladiolus smiled to himself. Maybe Prompto was right, if Ignis was doing this well at training eventually he might be able to take on hunts with them again. Gladiolus was brought back from his musings as he saw them make their way by a short time later. He hadn’t meant to stare like he had, but Prompto needing to turn away, something about getting dinner, made it clear he had made him uncomfortable. With a sigh, Gladiolus stood and followed the two, it was time to figure things out.

At first everything was running smoothly. Occationally Ignis would need a verbal cue, but he was fighting well enough on his own otherwise. Unfortunately that was sort lived, and as they took on bigger enemies, Ignis was proving to need more and more help. Gladiolus tried to go easy on Ignis, hoping he just needed more time, but the changes were not coming fast enough for his liking. He was worried he would lose Ignis again.

“What were you thinking, Iggy?” He shouted, nearly in the blind man’s face, arms outstretched at his sides. Ignis perused his lips together, trying to ignore the other man, hoping he would simply walk away, but he held no such luck.

“You can’t let yourself get cornered like that. We can’t watch you every second of the battle, what if Prompto hadn’t noticed the Ronin had you surrounded?” Gladiolus’ eyes widened as he heard Ignis growl and bare his teeth. No matter how angry he had gotten, Ignis had always managed to keep some semblance of composure, but now, he acted like a cornered beast. 

“I’m not the only one that has Prompto watch out for him. I’ve heard him yell out for you, and heard him shoot to cover you.” Adjusting the glasses that Ignis used to cover the scars, he let out a huff, trying to calm himself before he spoke again, “Speaking of covering, I know you’re bleeding. Let’s get you patched up and get back to Lestallum.” Before they had a chance to start fighting again, Prompto had stepped in with their medical kit. 

Everything got impossibly worse when they set out to stop five Red Giants that were pushing closer to the city. With the addtion of three more hunters, they took the hunt. There was no way to ignore the difficulty of the hunt, the Giants packed tightly together. On Ignis’ suggestion, they split them in half, three for them and the other two for the new hunters. Prompto had suggested that they fight defensivly and get ready to get away if things got hairy. Three giants were tough, but he promised as soon as they could, they would come help them.

Gladiolus found them after the battle. The earth around them was scortched, black marks marring the ground where it burned. In the distance, he could hear the groaning sounds of the Giants, and laughter of imps. They must have been ambushed. They were laying together, blood pooling around them, deep gashes adorn their bodies. In the darkness, Gladiolus was unable to find their weapons, but the image was enough to show Gladiolus what happened.

Weapons taken from them, backed into a corner huddled together in fear. They probably called out for help, their voices drowned out by their own fight. Gladiolus can hear them in his mind, torn to pieces as they begged to be saved. His stomach clenched, he tried not to vomit as the smell of blood curled around him. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward, carefully taking the dog tags off each of them, ignoring the blood that dripped off them. His voice left him, until Prompto was safely sedated in a hospital bed.

“We shouldn’t have listened to you Iggy,” Gladiolus murmured, sitting on a chair near the end of the hospital bed that held Prompto. Ignis looked up, lifting his head from the edge of the bed. He had been resting there, waiting to hear the change of Prompto’s breathing, hoping he would wake up soon.

“There was no way for us to know they would be ambushed. It was,” he paused licking his lips and taking a deep breath, “Most unfortunate.” At his words, Gladiolus stood quickly, the chair knocking back and clattering to the floor. Ignis jumped at the sound, nearly falling from his place. Quickly he checked Prompto, making sure he was still asleep, but Gladiolus wasted no time before he started screaming.

“Unfortunate? Are you serious, Ignis? They’re dead, fucking dead, because of your damned strategy.” Ignis opened his mouth, ready to retort, but was left mouth agape as Gladiolus continued.

“The fight in Altissia must have taken more than your sight, we should have stuck together.” Ignis’ voice wavered, but he stood tall, staring through the larger man.

“And how do you think that would have gone? We would have likely all died if we tried to take them all at once.” 

“We should have split them up like we did and just took them on together in waves. If we were together the imps wouldn’t have been that much more of a challange.” Ignis looked at Gladiolus as if he had lost his mind, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he was sure he had.

“We were able to seperate them because we had distracted them with the two groups. Or would you of rather had them waltz into the city that was void of hunters while we took out some of them.” Taking a step closer to Ignis, he grabbed his collar, dragging him up to face him. 

Gladiolus felt tears welling up in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. Everything was crashing down around him, and it was harder to keep himself from breaking. Noctis was gone, and Prompto was laying in a hospital bed. Three hunters were dead, Gladiolus felt like a broken Shield, unable to protect anyone. Even Ignis was beyond what he could protect.

Dropping his oldest friend, he retrieved the chair he had upturned, moving it to the other side of Prompto’s bed. Without looking at Ignis, he sat, taking a small pale hand in his, watching the fall and raise of his chest. 

“We shouldn’t have taken you with us.” While watching Prompto, Gladiolus missed how Ignis’ face broke at his words. Holding onto the railing of the hospital bed to keep himself upright, trying to deny any deep meaning held in those words. There was a long silence, before Gladiolus heard the door open and shut, leaving him alone wth Prompto.

Glaring down at the bottle of an empty beer bottle, Gladiolus sighed. He did hate how he was hiding behind the bottle, but he was unsure what else to do. Nothing he did turned out right. He wanted to protect Ignis, but locking up in the city treating him like a caged animal as Prompto had put it, saved no one. 

Waving for another beer, he lay his face in his hands. Prompto. Kid, no that was unfair, he wasn’t just some kid. Prompto was able to stand on his own, better than he could now, and still smile. Was the only reason Gladiolus still laughed, he thought a bit morosely. 

Taking the offered beer, he quickly took a long pull, trying to drown everything he was feeling. He wanted to keep drinking, until nothing could hurt him anymore. Raising his hand, he was preparing to do just that, when he heard his name. At first he ignored it, obviously his imagination playing tricks on him. With the damage to his ribs, Prompto should be in bed, but the voice came again, quieter, but desperate. 

Stepping outside, he had to make sure the voice really was in his head, there was no way Prompto would be out. Instead, he saw Prompto, arms clutching his sides as he tried running down the alley. Prompto was yelling out for him, but his eyes were unseeing as he ran straight into Gladiolus. Reaching out, he steadied his friend, looking down at him concerned.

“Prompto, what’s wrong? You shouldn’t be moving around so much right now.” Using a hand still on Prompto’s shoulder, he tried to guide him back to the hotel. Prompto grabbed his arm, bouncing in place.

Gladiolus felt his blood go cold as Prompto tried to explain what was happening. He had found drugs in their room, and found the door blocked. Ignis was hardly the kind to find such a terrible vice, he knew there had to be something more going on than an addiction. Panic clutching at his chest, he stepped back into the bar, yanking a chair away from the table. Once he had gotten Prompto settled he stood and turned away.

“Okay, just stay here. I’ll be back, I promise.” Turning on his heels, Gladiolus ran. Through the streets, pushing anyone away if they blocked his path. People yelled after him, but he could only hear the blood rushing in his ears as the panic took hold of him. Skidding as he turned, trying to get the stairs, he ignored the dirty he from the recepitonist, flying up the stairs two at a time.

There was no need to try and figure out which door it was, and he quickly slammed into it. The door jarred, but did not open enough for him to get by. Stepping back, he tried again, throwing his shoulder into the door. It gave way enough he could see inside, Ignis had pushed the dresser over to block the door. Taking a step to try again he shouted, “Iggy, come on, don’t do this.” Another slam, and the door was enough open that Gladiolus forced his way through, one hand on the door the other on the wall pulling himself in. 

Once in, his breath caught in his throat. Ignis was sitting on the floor, leaning against the foot of the farthest bed. Blood trickled down his arm from a hole small enough Gladiolus couldn’t see. Pressed against his arm, Ignis was pressing the needle into his arm again, filling his vein with a cloudy liquid. His head was slumped forward, and he refused to respond to Gladiolus entering the room, but if he had the strength to take another dose he must still be okay, he hoped. Hurrying over to Ignis, he knelt before him, trying to get his attention.

“Iggy, come on, talk to me.” Ignis looked up to the sound of Gladiolus’ voice, but he made no other signs of being coherent. Looking down, Gladiolus could see the bag Prompto mentioned, a lot of it seemed to have spilled on the floor. There was no way of knowing how much he had taken.

Afraid of wasting too much time, Gladiolus put a hand around Ignis’ back, and the other under his legs. Standing quickly, he shoved the dresser out of the way, running back down the stairs. As he ran he kept checking on Ignis, his breath was coming our shorter and shorter. Gladiolus shook him, trying to keep him awake and breathing.

“Come one, Iggy. You’ve gotta stay with me, please.” It was getting harder to tell if the blind man was still breathing. He stopped to check for his pulse. It was there, barely. His own heart picked up speed, hammering in his chest. Reaching the hospital, he shouldered through the door, looking for a doctor or nurse. There was hardly a wait as three nurses came running to him, all of them asking questions at once. Before he could answer one left to get a gurney.

“He was over dosing on, I think it was heroin, it was white powder. He mixed it with water and,” He adjust Ignis in his arms to show them the needle marks. As the third nurse came back, the first two gave each other strange looks before asked, “Does he have a history of drug use?” 

Gladiolus shook his head as he spoke, “No, you have to fight to get him to take an aspirin.” They nodded to each other before they took him away, one staying behind and resting a reassuring hand over his.

“If you just found him, he should be alright. We’ll get him through this.” He gave her an appreciative nod before he moved to sit down and wait for a doctor. As he sat, he thought about getting Prompto, but he was afraid to leave. He needed to be there when Ignis came to, he needed to talk to Ignis. Everything was his fault and he knew it. Gladiolus knew how hard he was trying to feel normal, but he was stuck on his own fear. 

His thoughts were interrupted by a doctor clearing his throat. Standing immediately, Gladiolus tried to ask, but was stopped by the doctor’s raised hand.

“He’s going to be fine. You got him here in time, but we’re going to keep him here at least over night just to make sure. It will take a while for the drugs to leave his system so he may be less than responsive, but it’s normal.” Gladiolus nodded, making his way to the room Ignis lay in. 

Standing at the door, he raised his hand to knock, but held still. It was his fault Ignis was here, he had no right to be. He should just leave and never turn back, if he left, Ignis would be safe. Leaning against the door, he took a breath, trying to calm himself. That was the best move, but he wanted to be selfish, he wanted to say goodbye.

Slipping into the room, he saw Ignis propped up on the pillows, head tilted to the sound of the opening door. Gladiolus swallowed down his fear and took a step into the room.

“H-hey, Iggy,” Gladiolus spoke barely over a whisper, as he stepped closer to the bed. Ignis had made no attempt to move once he heard Gladiolus’ voice, he was unsure if it was the drugs or if he was hoping Gladiolus would disappear. He could hardly blame him if that was the case.

Taking a seat near the bed, he lay a hand on the white sheets. Looked down at his hand, afraid to look up at Ignis. While he tried to collect his thoughts, tried to find the words to say, he felt the weight of Ignis’ hand covering his, he smiled.

“I’m sorry, Ignis, for,” He paused letting out a sigh, “for this, for everything.” Silence hung between them, and Gladiolus felt the guilt in his chest. He was not deserving of Ignis’ forgiveness, but he needed to let him know. 

When he felt Ignis squeeze his hand, Gladiolus sobbed. Placing his other hand over Ignis’, he lay his forehead against them, his shoulders shaking. It was the first time Gladiolus had cried in longer than he could remember. Always stead fast, strong and sturdy, but the Shield was broken and he let himself crumble. Even if only this once, he let himself break completely, heavy sobs as his hands tightening their grip. 

He held onto Ignis as his life line, and Ignis let him. Laying in bed, he closed his eye, letting his friend cry and break. Ignis smiled for a brief moment, as the sobs subsided, but the smile fell when he heard Gladiolus. The large man had begun apologizing, over and over like a personal mantra. He strung them together, and began apologizing for each of his discrepancies. Reaching out, Ignis found Gladiolus’s hair, and gently carded his fingers through them, until he felt Gladiolus shift to look up at him.

“Don’t worry, Gladio. I forgive you. I know you didn’t mean any harm.” 

He stopped, feeling Gladiolus lift his hand and bring it back to the bed. Gladiolus shook his head even if it was useless.

“Don’t act like it’s okay, Iggy. You’re laying in a hospital bed for gods’ sake. Nothing about this is okay!” His voice shook, and tears still fell from his eyes, but he had to make sure Ignis understood.

“I was afraid, of losing you, like we lost Noctis. I don’t want to lose anyone else close to me, and that fear made me nearly lose you. It did make me lose you.” He felt his throat get tight again, but he pushed past it, “Trying to protect you just pushed you, and Prompto away from me. I lost you both trying to protect you.” He heard Ignis sigh, and smiled, it was an annoyed sigh, but a fond one as well.

“We’ve all done things we regret. There’s no shame in admitting we did stupid things out of fear. All this time we’ve spent, caring for Noctis, watching him grow and prepare to be king. We were never prepared for what was to happen if we had lost him.” Ignis gave his hand a squeeze, they were both broken, Gladiolus understood that. The only difference was how they fell apart.

“Hey, Iggy. Can I ask? Why’d you do it that way? Would have never guessed you as a guy to do that kind of stuff.” Gladiolus looked confused as Ignis gave a small laugh, stopping to catch his breath. After taking a moment to gather himself, “It’s a useless thing, heroin. I figured if I used that, I wasn’t wasting any resources, at least not important ones.” 

It was Gladiolus turn to laugh, even when he was so far gone, Ignis was still thinking ahead, a true strategist. They really would be better off without him, at least he could leave knowing they were in good hands, each others. Standing from his seat, he let go of Ignis’ hand.

“Thank you, Iggy.” Stepping away from the bed, he made his way to the door, stopping when he heard Ignis make a confused sound. He turned and gave him a smile he couldn’t see, “I’m glad you and Prompto have each other to hold each other up. Take care of the kid, Iggy, he needs you.” Stepping out of the room, he moved out of the way of the nurses, and heard them tell Ignis it was time to check his vitals again. 

Stopping by his room, Gladiolus grabbed what little he had, and made his way down the streets of the city. It would be easy enough, join a group of hunters that was going to a different outpost, he would go between Havens if he had to. Without him, Prompto and Ignis would be fine, better even. 

Walking by the alley he ran into Prompto in, he looked down it, smiling. Prompto was still in the chair he had left him in, head leaning against the wall. He must have fallen asleep while he waited for him to come back.

“Sorry, Prom. One goodbye was hard enough, I hope you’ll forgive me for breaking my promise.” He continued down the street coming into view. 

“Take care of Iggy for me, okay?”

**Author's Note:**

> Is it okay to admit I actually cried writing this? Because I did. But I finished it! Kind of glad it's over... I need something sweet and sappy to make up for this now. *Jumps into pile of fluff* Also I probably didn't link it well and I am sorry please correct me if I'm wrong!


End file.
